installation #1: botanical futurisme

materials:
191 latex gloves
18 wooden stakes
800 feet mason

structure:
9 rows of sting
3 feet between rows
21 hands / 8 rows
23 hands (21 + a pair of hands) / final row
2 feet between each hand

the human hand as a plant however it is the most modernized version of the human hand as a latex glove. humans are completely dependent on plants and therefore humans are the plants. the agricultural placement signifies how mechanized, industrial and "non-human" our current big agri-systems are. agriculture even in its "purest" manner is completely unnatural; we have drastically altered the surface of our earth through agriculture. agriculture is the absurd industrial process we commonly choose to forget exists or just never pay any attention to. what will our botanical future look like?

this site is created in order to manifest a literary essay as an interactive and universal entity. i attempt to traverse the boundary between the sciences and the arts via outdoor and interactive artistic demonstrations with scientific themes. these installataions now exist as photographic capturings open to comments and criticism not just from the college community they are birthed from but instead from anyone in the world who is moved by these photographs and desires to share that movement with me and other visitors to the site. (i realize how art is often inaccesible and that attempts to access art through photographic reproductions further alienates the sensory involvment of the art with the public.)

*

in my own attempts to capture the essence and mood of these installations for myself and for those who interacted with the works i used medium format film cameras (a holga and a minolta autocord) and a polaroid camera. these cameras have 12 photographs in a roll and involve a rather expensive developing process considering digital alternatives. this forces me to place an equal amount of effort on the photographing of the installation as i exert on the creation of the installation itself. i photograph each installation as the daylight changes and as people interact with the work. there is just as much personal influence on each of these photos as there is on the subject of the photo.

*

during such a ridiculously monotonous routine as walking to and from class here on this college campus i hope to have created a moment for reflection; a certain awakening. the words of surrealist salvador dali have always influenced my interaction with art: "i try to create fantastic things, magical things, things like in a dream. The world needs more fantasy."

*

it is my greatest desire that you do not simply look at these photographs but instead that you rid yourself of any visual crutch and have these photos move you like the first time you realized you are breathing without having to think about the act of breathing or perhaps a moment when you were inspired by a conversation with a complete stranger.

*

cheers,

stockmar